


The Saint

by ViktorBunny



Category: The Saint (1997), Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Doctor Yuuri, Flirting, Humor, M/M, Scientist Yuuri, Spy - Freeform, Spy Victor, The Saint AU, You Only Live Once, alternative universe, banker christophe, no violence, philanthropist spy, poet georgi, spy zine, vague mention of smut, victor in disguise, wine drunk, yoi spy zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 22:01:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20937428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViktorBunny/pseuds/ViktorBunny
Summary: Victor spent a lifetime fooling government agencies and notorious 'security' committees around the world, and less than a week with Yuuri before wanting to pull off the mask he'd gotten so used to wearing.





	The Saint

**Author's Note:**

> Written for You Only Live Once, the Yuri!!! on Ice Spy zine I was part of. 
> 
> GASP! What is this rated M from me? LOL! I'm settling on M and not T if only because of wine and vague mention of smut. This is my 'slightly longer' directors cut, which was not beta read/edited. So apologies for any mistakes. It's a very light hearted spy fic, nothing graphic, no violence, just sweet and silly. I hope you enjoy it!

Victor ‘The Saint’ Nikiforov, whereabouts unknown. Russian descent. Unaffiliated with the KGB. Suspected lone agent, thief for hire with trusted connections. Specializes in obtaining high tech information. Master of disguise. Has a habit of donating most of his earnings to charities. Connecting thread has been various Saint names listed as the donor. Is this cover because he feels guilty about the work he’s been hired for? Or does he just like taking a jab at the corporations he steals from? Amazing cheekbones and luscious ass. Cerulean eyes you could gaze into for eternity.

That’s how he imagined his FBI or FSB profile to read– if they knew his real eye color or name for that matter. After all the spotty reports he’d seen pop up over the years he could rest assured he was comfortably safe for the most part, but he certainly loved tracking various intelligence agencies to see what they were speculating about him. Always a good chuckle.

He certainly hoped they recognized his best assets. Pun fully intended. Victor smiled to himself, taking a sip of his Chianti as he finished clearing a donation to a local children’s hospital in his home city of St. Petersburg. Under the pseudonym, Vincent de Paul, no one but the trusted manager of his Swiss bank account, Christophe Giacometti, would know who the true donor was. Bless the frustrated and confused agencies of the world for trying their hardest.

Firing off one last encrypted message of thanks to Christophe he tabbed over to his favorite forum, buried deep in the dark recesses of the web, for his next job. A lot of the posts looking to hire were for jobs that left a bad taste in his mouth, easy to scroll by for the most part. He enjoyed taking technology information theft jobs. There was usually no body count involved and most of these corporations were run by corrupt CEOs anyway, he had no qualms in either taking and distributing their information or wealth, especially when his end motives involved trying to better the lives of the less fortunate.

His eye was caught by one post a few pages deep, the words ‘revolutionary cold fusion formula’ not only sounding up his alley job-wise but also raising a curious eyebrow. The encrypted message within the post itself was messy at best, most likely an amateur at doing job postings for hire, but the payout looked more than reasonable for what was most likely an easy job. He didn’t like letting his accounts dip below a certain amount, in case of emergencies and upfront costs needed to get jobs started, and it was already teetering close to the red zone. Victor had his eye on making a larger than usual donation to an elderly dog care shelter outside Sochi that had been doing a lot of amazing work lately. Dogs were always a soft spot for him, especially poodles. Since his work kept him on the road too much to have one of his own, his regular donations to shelters were his way of vicariously owning one.

The money sounded perfect and easy for the shelter, so a coded message for more information on the job was sent to the original poster. This _really_ had to be an amateur on the other end because with a little sweet talk via a few messages Victor was able to gather enough information without outright accepting the offer. Before he even finished his glass of wine a quick search online brought up a small group of scientists working collectively to research cold fusion as an energy source and the name of a University in France that showed an ending date of April 2016 for the project. There was a curious lack of information and working dates after that. The only other bit of information on the group Victor could find was that they were supposedly giving a demonstration to the board of another University in Slovakia, two days from now.

This whole situation sounded crazy if he were being honest. Would this even lead to a real payoff? The project had been cold- pun fully intended again- for a year and a half now. It sounded like something out of a science fiction novel to boot and made him skeptical that any money to be made off of this existed. Though whoever was looking for the formula went through enough trouble to find and pay off a listing agent.

Victor found himself laughing out loud at his hasty decision, the wine getting to his head a little. Screw it, he was in between jobs and wanted to get away for a little while anyway. He might as well give the University a visit before deciding to take this one or not. Worst case he got a little vacation in Slovakia, with some nice vineyards a hop and a skip away. There was nothing to lose sans the rainy weather New York City had been drowning in lately.

\----

The seat Victor took in the science department lab was the last one, nestled somewhere in the middle of the flock of blazers and lab coats that had gathered for the demonstration. Normally he dressed to the nines when not on a job, though that was rare as he didn’t have many excuses to go out these days. Now, however, he was inconspicuous enough given the nature of the event; a baggy, ill-fitting gray suit, white and black pin-striped button-down and clashing black and tan tartan tie. Years of practice with the necessary makeup and prosthetics for disguising himself blended him into the crowd further. A salt and peppered poorly done combover that barely did anything to hide the bald cap, a touch of rosacea on his cheeks and nose, and set of false upper teeth that were a little bucked- complete with a silver cap on a canine. Top it all off with a thick pair of retro tortoiseshell, square-framed glasses and he became invisible.

Maybe he’d overdone it and wasn’t being too kind to those few in the lab who obviously had better taste in clothing. Unfortunately, they were the minority and the man next to him in a lab coat was one of them, though that baby blue tie could use an upgrade. Something to match the blue on his glasses frames perhaps.

The woman in the front of the lab started her introduction to the demonstration, offering thanks to the University staff and board for coming out, as well as students and various others who’d taken an interest. Victor leaned in towards the man to his right, getting more of a look at him as he pretended to awkwardly fidget in his seat a little. The man side-eyed Victor, deep brown-red irises anxiously assessing his neighbor.

Oh wow. He was certainly cute and young compared to everyone else in the room. Victor gave as crooked a grin as his fake teeth were, caught off guard by the beautiful Asian man. “Professor require this for credit?” He whispered in a fake, basic North American accent. The man took a deep breath and shrugged him off, prompting Victor to try again. “Sorry to impose, you just seem too fresh to be part of this stuffy group.”

Those blue framed glasses turned to him finally, the eyes behind them narrowing. His voice and smile were curious but a little annoyed at the same time. “Who are you?”

“Hmm? I’m here to do an interview after the demonstration. I’m going to expose the group as a fraud,” Victor snorted with a quiet laugh. The back story he’d thought of for this afternoon was one of his favorites when it came to sneaking into things like this, the naysayer reporter. Made easier since Victor had gone into this unsure of the entire thing himself. “You don’t put any stock in this cold fusion mumbo jumbo do you?” He wanted to know where this handsome man sat on the subject too. Surely he was here because a professor required it.

He looked politely taken aback instead, eyebrows rising under the black fringe of his hair, “Actually, I do.”

“Really?” Victor was a little astonished, a nervous smile stuck in place as the man assessed the strange and rather rude character he’d found himself seated next to.

In the moment of silence between them, the introduction wrapped and the woman at the front of the room welcomed the guest speaker; Dr. Yuuri Katsuki. “Excuse me.” The man next to him rose to a room full of applause.

_“Well damn, good job Victor…”_ Out of pure shame he stuck around for the beginning, where Dr. Katsuki explained the theory of cold fusion and what good it could do for the world. The science behind it seemed impossible, not that Victor knew much of anything when it came to the subject, there was a good reason he didn’t pursue science as a child, but there was passion and hope behind Dr. Katsuki’s words. Albeit it was drenched in anxiety and nerves, possibly because public speaking wasn’t something everyone could do without a bit of stage fright.

Speaking of stage fright, Victor was feeling a pang of his own. The FBI should be adjusting his file any day now, new name: Victor ‘Puts Foot In His Mouth While Talking To Cute Scientist’ Nikiforov. After a few minutes, he caught a moment where Dr. Katsuki wasn’t looking and slipped quietly out the back.

\----

Removing a disguise was as freeing as wearing one sometimes. Maybe the life he chose was starting to weigh on him, but getting to be himself was a thing he increasingly missed with each passing year. No matter how many disguises he wore though, he knew who he was. Dr. Yuuri Katsuki was someone he did not know, however, he found himself wanting to. Picking the locks on the third story walk-up gave him access to learning who the Doctor truly was. At first glance, he was tidy, though it didn’t look as if he had enough belongings to make much of a mess with in the first place. The living room, which opened up the apartment still had some boxes stacked in a far corner, and the TV console was still in the process of being built, a small flat screen made due on the floor in front of the couch, which looked a little like a nest at the moment. Sleepless nights? Or no bed yet?

Victor slowly made his way deeper into the room, his eye caught by a collection of framed photos hanging on the wall to the right. Pictures of the Doctor with his family, seemingly during important moments to him. One was a birthday celebration as a child, colorful wrapping paper was torn up around him, ribbons tangled throughout, and a small, curly fleece covered ball of fluff wrapped up in his arms, licking his chin. Victor couldn’t help but smile at how much pure happiness emitted from the photo, the future Doctor full of laughter as he was attacked with puppy kisses. Looked like a poodle too, he and his family have good taste in dogs.

Another photo of what might have been extended family at, Victor squinted, a hotel maybe? He couldn’t tell, the signs and party displays were all in Japanese. The accent from earlier clicked now. This looked like a New Years' celebration, the adults red in the face with alcohol, young triplets hanging off one man’s arms as he flexed. The Doctor was rosy-cheeked himself but not as much as the others, he smiled shyly as the woman next to him fired off a confetti cracker mid-photo. She looked blasted if judging by the frozen expression of laughter with her head tossed back.

There was one from his graduation too, diploma proudly displayed as his parents and a sister surrounded him. Victor looked at it closer, the Doctor had graduated at a University in Detroit apparently. Victor raised his eyebrows, _‘He gets around, America, France, Slovakia.’_ More photos extended outwards from there. Ice skating classes as a child paired next to similar more recent shots. Photos with his toy poodle which Victor could not stop smiling at. Plenty of family vacations at random places around Japan. He had a lot of fond memories it seemed and a lot of people who loved him.

Then he hit the end of the hanging photos, lower down the wall, on a small end table near the window was a vase with some fresh flowers in it, an empty but recently used incense burner, and a small bone-shaped dog tag laid in front of one last photo of the Doctor and his beloved poodle. Victor swallowed hard, the sting of tears burning behind his eyes as he realized what this was. His heartstrings pulled tight in his chest as he blinked to clear his vision. Victor’s soft spot for poodles was definitely being prodded at. Any man that hung so many photos of his loved ones in his home was certainly a good one, but a man who put together a shrine for his passed and obviously very loved toy poodle, had a heart of gold. There was clearly much more to Dr. Katsuki than a cute face and big brain. It only made Victor want to know more.

As he made his way through the rest of the apartment he started to notice post-it notes and scraps of paper everywhere. Usually with short phrases, some with longer passages, almost always from a famous Russian poet. Georgi Popovich was famous in his country for the tormented love poems he wrote. They almost always fell into one of three themes: one-sided longing, brief but intensely burning passion, and utter heartbreak. The ones that focused on one-sided longing and pining for another he could never have always resonated with Victor. But the passionate, sometimes extremely risque ones were his favorite. They were like bite-sized romance novels, super concentrated and bursting when you got into them.

A lot of the prose excerpts laying around were from those two bits of Popovich’s genius. Beautifully handwritten and stuck around various places as a way to vent his frustrations. Because in all the searching of his personal effects nowhere, not any small sign or record showed for date nights or a significant other. Everything besides the family photos and bits of poetry was work, work, work.

When it came to Dr. Katsuki’s work he’d learned a lot that his web searches weren’t showing him. For starters, the Doctor and the rest of his team had not completed the formula. It was a dead end as far as this prospective job was concerned, at least for the people paying for the information. Victor would still make out with a good deal of money. Through combing over personal emails it was revealed that there was another group racing against Dr. Katsuki’s to complete the formula.

Apparently, Dr. Katsuki’s group wanted to free source it when it was finished and thoroughly tested, while the other wanted to be able to sell it to the highest bidder. One was doing it for the good of humanity and the other wanted to profit. Finding that out raised red flags about who could have possibly paid for that listing. The rival group of scientists had either all gone in on it, or there was someone funneling grant money in hopes of landing himself among the 1% in the next few years.

And where grant money was concerned with Dr. Katsuki– there was none. The University in France had turned him away after years of no progress and he didn’t make enough money from just teaching to cover what was necessary. He was in between jobs now, living on savings, hoping that one of his demonstrations at a University would land him the grant they needed to finish the formula.

By the time Victor slipped back out of the apartment the softness he’d felt upon entering had hardened with determination. He might not feel comfortable taking the job at this point, but it didn’t mean his work here was done.

\----

Having come out here with fewer resources than he would normally have left him with one option for a disguise. A lace-front wig that reminded him of his hair as a child, long and a bit more on the blonde side, the silver shade he had now had taken over as he’d grown. He was not about to don that bald cap again and going out without some kind of disguise was not a good idea just yet. After a quick trip to a local mall for some appropriate clothing and accessories the night before, and a quick morning makeover with contoured features, darkened eyebrows and mascara, Victor followed Yuuri to where his kitchen wall calendar told him to: the ice rink.

Yuuri had all the free skate times marked down and judging by the personal pair Victor found next to the couch he’d been using them often. Sure enough, as Victor tied his laces on a bench, Yuuri skated by the edge of the rink, avoiding the various children and adults who were using the time for extra practice or for fun. Victor pushed up the rose gold framed glasses he’d purchased along with a long-sleeved shirt, puffer vest, and knitted cap. He’d tried to find an over the counter pair that had the lowest prescription possible but he still lost a little focus with them on, the Doctor becoming a soft blur of color.

Victor carefully stood, keeping his eye on the target as he rounded the far side of the rink. It felt strange to try to balance on the thin blades, his legs wobbling and ankles buckling inward as he took his first few steps on the rentals. At the age of 30 and nearly a lifetime of gymnastics, working out, and various combat training to keep him in tip-top condition for his work this was by far the most awkward thing he’d attempted.

By the time he was on the ice, children a good twenty years his junior whizzing by like it was _no big deal,_ his ankles already ached. Victor sighed, tipping his chin down to try to get his bearings straight. Dr. Katsuki was approaching Victor’s vicinity, getting ready to make the curve of the rink further in, avoiding the slower skaters on the edge. They caught eyes briefly as Victor tried to steady himself, the Doctor gliding by.

As long as he kept an eye on Dr. Katsuki, even the blur of navy blue and black that he was through the glasses, Victor could take his time figuring out his next move. For as far ahead as he was used to thinking, he had nothing for today. Break into a highly guarded oil companies vault while a political rally takes place in the same building, having to scale the outside of a building while military police stand on the other side of the wall, KGB lurking in every shadow as both hired security and hired snipers – no big deal. Everything planned down to the microsecond, no worries except the occasional creaking floorboard. And that was just last month.

This month was mundane ice skating, yet his mouth was dry and any ideas he might have had last night on how to approach this were suddenly gone and he couldn’t figure out why. Well, step one should be trying to skate without holding onto the wall. A few attempts to actually glide and he was on the ice. Thankfully he was quick enough to catch himself and miss causing any major damage, so it was back up to try again. He did alright for a while, getting more than halfway around the rink before he tried his luck at multitasking. His quick search for the Doctor had him losing his balance again and he tumbled forward onto his hands and knees, a frustrated curse slipping out.

“Mister, you gotta keep your knees bent!” A little girl explained as she came to a stop, kicking up a little bit of ice. She couldn’t have been more than seven years old. Victor smiled in embarrassment and thanked for her the tip as a muffled giggle sailed by them. Dr. Katsuki stealing a glance over his shoulder.

The little girl's tip helped and within minutes Victor was slowly, but without falling this time, making his way around the outer edge. It took him a few more times around for his body to get used to what it needed to do, only wobbling a little when he needed to eye where the Doctor was at. Currently, he was doing some spins in the center of the rink, nothing out of the Olympics or anything, but it was still amazing looking and he made them seem so easy.

Victor pushed onward, gaining a little speed for the next round. He was surprisingly excited by the idea of skating faster, the thought that he could be getting the hang of this giving him an adrenaline kick. He came out of the curve of the rink to see the blur of Dr. Katsuki skating ahead of him, using the empty space he had to get a few languid and graceful turns in.

The sight of him caused Victor to go faster, the desire to catch up to the cute Doctor spurring him on. Unfortunately for Victor, it was too much speed and panic coursed through him the moment he realized he probably wouldn’t be able to handle the upcoming curve. And how should he stop or slow down without falling or slamming into the boards? The thought hadn’t occurred to him until now. There was no way he could pull off the stop the little girl did without hitting the ice hard.

His moment to try to think cost him too much time, Dr. Katsuki was just ahead, minding his own business with another playful spin as Victor came barreling towards him like a runaway train. “Look out!” Victor called out, trying to get his attention. “I don’t know how to stop!”

Yuuri whipped his head around in time to see Victor careening on a path straight for him. Without any time to move out of the way, the Doctor’s hands shot up in an attempt to brace for impact or protect from Victor’s flailing arms. Both men grabbed onto one another as Victor took them out, tumbling into the ice in a tangle of limbs. The speed Victor hit him with sent them spinning towards the nearby boards, and if there was anything Victor could do to lessen the blow of this accident it was to pull the Doctor around by his fleece jacket in an attempt to cushion the crash.

Victor took the brunt of it, back slamming into the wall and knocking the wind out of him, but at least Dr. Katsuki had thought quick enough to curl into his chest, bracing himself for the hard stop. Victor was used to taking hard hits like this, didn’t make them any easier when they happened, but he was positive Dr. Katsuki wouldn’t have fared as well. Victor’s glasses teetered on the tip of his nose, he didn’t care to push them back up, he wanted a clear view of Dr. Katsuki curled into him, a mop of messy black hair tucked under his chin. He was warm, firm and so close, the pseudo-cuddle lasted for all of a split second but it was worth it.

The Doctor sat upright, eyes wide behind his glasses as he assessed Victor, “Are you alright?! What were you thinking? You could have gotten seriously hurt!”

Seriously hurt for Victor, would have been much worse. He’d gladly take a hit like this every day if it meant getting such an intimate view of those warm brown eyes. He smiled at the Doctor, then with a laugh started grinning and found that he couldn’t stop. “Ah, but I wasn’t thinking. You see, there was this handsome man on the ice distracting me.”

Dr. Katsuki inhaled at the same speed of his face turning red, eyes reaching the pinnacle as to how wide they could open. He stuttered, sitting up a little more, his expression morphing into confusion as his eyes began to narrow, one eyebrow remaining raised. Victor felt silly laying crunched up, grinning like a fool up at the cute Doctor but, god help him, he really couldn’t stop. The Doctor narrowed his eyes at him further, leaning back down to ask, “Did you hit your head or something?”

Victor chuckled. Maybe he did but more importantly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to crash into you like that. I had been hoping to make your acquaintance in a much more suave manner. My clumsy attempt at skating didn’t cause you any damage, did it?”

Slowly, Dr. Katsuki shook his head, eyes fixed on Victor as he tried to sit up. “I’m fine, but, careful!” Dr. Katsuki reached out quickly to help. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked as Victor winced a little.

“Takes more than that to put me down,” Victor finally pushed his glass back up, silently cursing to himself for choosing to hide behind them. There was a soft chime sounding through the rink, followed by a fifteen-minute warning till the end of free skate. “I’m sorry, I just ruined your skating time.” It probably would have sounded more genuine without the goofy grin.

Dr. Katsuki sighed and shrugged, giving a small shy smile. “It’s okay, I’m here often enough.”

“Hmmm,” Victor hummed, he knew. He reached his hand out for introduction, “Name’s Thomas. What can I do to make it up to you?”

The Doctor’s smile curled higher on one side, growing bolder as he shook Victor’s hand. He bit back his lower lip, “Yuuri, buy me coffee?”

The two of them sat in the rink’s cafe for an hour after that, slowly sipping the coffee Victor was all too happy to buy. Despite knowing more about him than was reasonable, Victor couldn’t help the questions that poured from him. Each bit of information about the Doctor, about Yuuri, whether he knew it already or not, made his heart race. Ice skating reminded him of home in Japan. He did it to help ease stress. What the stress was he wouldn’t say, but Victor knew. Yuuri liked dogs, poodles were his favorite breed, and his eyes glazed over when he mentioned getting one as a child. Though he wouldn’t speak on it more for obvious reasons. Victor was quick to change the subject. Yuuri had only been living here for a month and was applying for work at the local university. The shaved down explanation, for sure. Yuuri was on the shy side, but friendly and Victor liked noting the way the combination of the two came out in his mannerisms while they talked. When he dropped his gaze he had such long beautiful lashes, and any bold meeting with Victor’s eyes revealed a touch of amber in them. He would bite his lip to try to hold back smiles when Victor said something flirty, and usually allowed the grin to win out in the end. And the way his fingers cradled his paper cup, laced delicately together and still when he wasn’t drinking or talking about himself, became curiously active when Victor was speaking. It would have been far less distracting if it weren’t for the slight stroking motion or the way his thumbs would caress the lip of the lid.

“Can I see you again?” The question came as they decided to part ways, but Victor wasn’t about to leave empty handed.

As a slip of paper containing Yuuri’s cell number was placed into Victor’s palm, Yuuri’s hidden bold side showed itself again, “I’m free this Saturday evening.”

\---

Victor had been hard pressed to not grab Yuuri and kiss him the moment he showed up at the restaurant that Saturday. Not that he hadn’t been tempted before, but this slicked-back hair, dark denim, and casual button-down was new and inviting. The few days of almost nonstop texting didn’t help either, Yuuri getting more than a few flirty passes at Victor in.

Yuuri remained more reserved in person though, so when they took their seats near the bar Victor ordered a bottle of Bordeaux to help lighten the mood. One thing Yuuri was not shy about was that first long sip from his glass, each one thereafter opening up the conversation. Though Victor’s shameless flirting took Yuuri some time to get used to, by the time he poured Yuuri a third glass while they enjoyed a shared appetizer the Doctor was starting to fire back.

Empty plate finally cleared away, Victor twirled the wine glass stem between his fingers, catching Yuuri’s eyes. Something about the way the dim lighting played with Yuuri’s features made him exude this kind of sexual confidence Victor hadn’t seen before. A pleasant surprise that further encouraged Victor to continue flirting, pulling out a few lines from one of his favorite Popovich prose. They paint a picture of longing for an acquaintance, the need to not only know more but have more of them– the lust only part of the reason why he’s so terribly lost in this person’s eyes. It should feel weird to speak them out loud to someone, especially someone he _is_ interested in, but knowing Yuuri’s familiarity with the romantic lines drove him to recite more. Yuuri was quick to follow with the ending, blushing into his wine glass and polishing it off.

“So you know Popovich’s work?” Victor asked, feigning shock.

“I studied him after being introduced to his work in a lit class.”

Two waiters arrived with their new bottle of wine and entrees, two fresh glasses being poured for both of them.

Victor smiled as they clinked them in cheers, “Then I’m a little more than embarrassed, it seems my pick up lines might not work here.” A wink before he took a sip, for safe measure. There was no room for doubt, he wanted Yuuri to know how much he desired him.

The conversation shifted while they ate and drank. Casual and as well mannered as Victor could be with the wine quickly drowning his system. Yuuri leaned onto the table at the end of his meal, taking a long sip before quoting another verse of a Popovich prose. This one wasn’t as blunt as Victor’s but it still told the story of longing to feel a real connection with another person, being afraid to let a spark ignite into a flame. Yuuri’s body language and eyes told a different story though, the brush of their fingers sending Victor’s own sparks down his spine.

Victor hummed with another smile, his finger rubbing along the side of Yuuri’s hand. “That says a lot about a person.”

Yuuri shrugged playfully, “Only a fraction, really.”

Victor tilted his head to the side, assessing the drunk Doctor across from him with a sly grin, “No, I think I get the full picture. Let me take a guess at who the mysterious poodle loving, ice skating Dr. Katsuki is.” Yuuri scrunched his face up with amusement as Victor took another sip of his wine. “Humour me, I consider myself pretty good at reading people.”

Yuuri picked up his glass with a chuckle and shook his head in disbelief, “Only because I’ll be terribly amused, try me," he said before taking a drink.

With a deep breath, Victor goes on to, as vaguely as possible, spill his knowledge of Yuuri. A hard worker, who’s always put his job before himself, but isn’t about denying life's little pleasures to help him get by. Though at his core he’s a romantic, he’s never sought love, instead has resigned himself to pining for a love he doesn’t know yet. Or maybe he does, but he worries what that means for the rest of his plans and goals. Because Yuuri is the type to love fully, without abandon. He finishes to a blushing Yuuri, eyes laser-focused on the table and trying to hide a crooked smile behind his hand. “Did I get it?” Victor asks, full of hope.

“Mmm, I’ll tell, after I get my try at you.” The words were heavy and Yuuri bit back his bottom lip, still trying to hold in a smile as he met Victor’s lingering gaze.

Victor chuckled, “I’m not easy to read, but you’re welcome to try.” Yuuri sat up straight with a wide, all-knowing grin, seemingly excited by the challenge. He tells Victor he’s also a hard worker and that he cares for those around him. Victor’s own longing for love and life is a driving force in what he does, but he’s put up walls over the years and wears disguises because he thinks others won’t care as much in return. He thinks if he hides behind these characters he can protect his real self in case things don’t go the way he’d like.

When Yuuri finished Victor sat quiet, feeling a bit guilty of how things had gone the last few days. Yuuri was right. There was no way around it. He’d come out here to just see if this job was worth taking, treating it like it was a job from the get-go and hiding himself when there was no need to. Especially after learning what he did about Yuuri. He knew he wasn’t going to steal Yuuri’s cold fusion formula. Yet even after deciding to stick around to get to know Yuuri, he still hid his true self for fear of rejection, but Victor wasn’t being rejected. Not when Yuuri’s hand was now laying over his, those brown eyes fixed on Victor. He felt ashamed, Yuuri shouldn’t have been treated like a job, not in the beginning, and especially not now. “I have to come clean with something…”

He got as far as confessing to Yuuri about being in disguise at the presentation, at the ice rink and now before he was interrupted by a small laugh from Yuuri. To Victor’s surprise, the Doctor smiled and nodded knowingly at him, “I figured as much, while your makeup and wigs aren’t that bad, there’s no hiding those eyes. I take it Thomas is not your real name either, but why?”

Victor gave Yuuri his real name, carefully explaining that he was looking into a job that was asking him to steal Yuuri’s cold fusion formula, admitting that the buyer was most likely looking for the complete thing, but when Victor learned it was incomplete, he wanted to stick around for his own reasons. He thought that admitting to Yuuri that he liked him was what caused a louder round of laughter, instead, it was more about the initial job. “That sounds so absurd, who would want to steal an unfinished formula from me?”

“A jealous scientist maybe?” Victor grinned, turning his hand in Yuuri’s. For whatever reason, he hadn’t let go, even during Victor’s should-have-been sobering explanation. Maybe Yuuri did hear his confession after all. Their fingers curled against one another’s palms.

“Hmmm, maybe that makes sense.” Yuuri pondered for a moment, there was no hiding it on his face, Yuuri knew exactly the people Victor was talking about. “You know, that presentation I gave earlier this week, it’s the fifth one I’ve given in two months. The only way I can ever dream of completing my work is with a grant. The Universities seem to have no issue wanting to hire me at first, but then they balk at the mention of my research. They say it’s too risky. But I know if I can finish it, it’ll change things for humanity. For the best.”

Risky research or not, Victor knew Yuuri was smart enough to complete his work. And to remain so passionate about helping others through these trials said a lot about his character. He was truly doing it for the right reasons, not to profit. Victor took Yuuri’s hand in his, squeezing reassuringly with a soft smile. He wasn’t sure what to say, but the gears were turning on how he could possibly help.

Yuuri returned the smile and squeeze, “So, Victor, now that we’re being open with one another. When do I get to see the real you?” Victor’s heart skipped a beat as Yuuri offered that they finish the wine at his place. Victor wanted nothing more than to tear this wig and clothing off and give them both what they wanted and needed. He could figure the rest out later.

The next waiter to walk by got a cracked, “Check, please?” from Victor.

\----

Yuuri was surprise after surprise that night. Their first round of lust-fueled passion blurring into another that gave way to deep, slow lovemaking. Somewhere in between all the heated kisses and carefully exploring hands, Victor realized how hard he’d fallen. By the time Yuuri was arched under him during their last go, Victor buried to the hilt and giving the last of everything he could he knew leaving wasn’t an option. They fit together so well and every caress, every touch seemed to help solidify his desire to stay.

The sun was threatening to rise when Victor finished making a transfer with Christophe’s help. He’d hated leaving Yuuri’s bed, even if it wasn’t for long. His discarded wig and glasses on the coffee table seemed like they were from a lifetime ago. Victor closed Yuuri’s laptop and on his way down the hall grabbed his work phone from his kicked aside pants pocket. He followed the trail of their clothing back to Yuuri’s room, navigating back to the messages that had started all of this.

Victor climbed into bed, the sleeping beauty next to him simply rolling over to slide an arm across Victor’s waist. He fired off a quick message to the original poster, ‘Don’t know where you got your information from but this lead is stale- no proof of working formula exists.’ That should be enough to deter the competing group from wanting to pursue it. And if anyone else should try coming after it, or Yuuri, before he had time to publish his work Victor would be here to see to it that they failed.

**Author's Note:**

> As always a HUGE thank you to everyone for reading. Any kudos, comments or messages on [Tumblr](https://viktorbunny.tumblr.com/) or over on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ViktorBunny) are always deeply appreciated.


End file.
